Who we are & what we do

Chelveston-cum-Caldecott Parish Council first met on Friday 4th January 1895 and has been going strong ever since! There are 7 Councillors, supported by a Clerk. The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Council are elected annually from amongst the Councillors at the Annual Meeting in May.

Councillors

Election results (2015)

The next elections will be on Thursday 7th May 2020, to coincide with the new Unitary Council elections (i.e. this will be a 5 year term).

E. Jabez Browning, the first Chairman of the Parish Council in 1895.
This image was taken around 1908. By kind permission of Jessica Leslie, San Antonio, Texas, USA

What the Parish Council does

Parish Councils are statutory bodies, originally created by the Local Government Act 1894 and having powers under a number of different Acts and Regulations (e.g. the Highways Act 1980, the Localism Act 2011, etc.). The Parish Council can raise funds through local taxation, known as the Precept, which is added to the Council Tax bill and collected by the District Council on behalf of the Parish Council. The Parish Council can also apply for grants.

Meetings of the Parish Council are normally held on the second Monday of the month at the Village Hall in Caldecott Road.

The Parish Council's responsibilities currently include -

• Allotments (16 plots);
• Amenity Land (Higham Road);
• Community Events (e.g. Dog shows, Quiz nights);
• Community Safety (e.g. Flood wardens, Village Emergency Plan);
• Grants;
• Grass cutting (within the 30 mph limits);
• Grounds maintenance;
• Neighbourhood Development Planning (The NDP was adopted in 2017);
• Newsletters (issued free to all households in the parish bi-monthly, plus special editions);
• Parish Appraisals (surveys of the parish done every 7 years or so);
• Planning (as a statutory consultee);
• Provision of "self-help" gritting bins (formerly a County Council function);
• Provision of the parish noticeboards;
• Street Furniture (public benches, some of the litter and dog bins);
• Street Lighting (59 lamps around the parish);
• Traffic Calming (3 Speed Indicator Devices, organising volunteers for the Community Speed Watch rota);
• Trustees (to various charities);
• War Memorials (maintenance of the Cross of Sorrow in the Churchyard and the 305th BG memorial in Higham Road); and
• Websites (both the Council's and the parish charity/community ones).

Committees

Honours

Since the Council was created in 1895, two Councillors and one Clerk have held honours.

• Cllr William Hirst Simpson CBE, who served as a Councillor from 1904 - 1921.
• Cllr Glenn Harwood MBE, who served as a Councillor from 2007 - 2017.
• Mr William Fellowes Corby MBE, who served as the Clerk from 1906 - 1934.

Standing Orders

Code of Conduct

Action Plan

Staff and Volunteers

We have one part-time Clerk, plus a number of volunteers who pick litter, check on the footpaths, mow the grass round the 305th BG Memorial, deliver the parish newsletters, etc. If you have a problem to report, this can be done by phone, e-mail or using the on-line form.